A Pyromaniac's Reflection
by Altlantica Stitch
Summary: When two redheads meet and upset the balance, one little mirror goes into action. First chapter Axel's POV, NOT yaoi. On Hiatus, in case you couldn't tell.
1. Two of Blood

I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy VII. Only this chapter is in first person, the rest is third person.**_

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**_A Pyromaniac's Reflection_**

For someone with no heart, it's awfully easy to forget important details. Details like why the hell I'm sitting at a bar in the middle of a slum town called Midgar. Oh wait…the bar girl's racked. I took another swig of my drink, thinking about my latest mission. I honestly couldn't understand what Xemnas was thinking sending me here. I ran a gloved hand through my spiky red locks, a feature which I am both known for and proud of. The alcohol was starting to get to me, and I was having trouble remembering what my mission was in the first place. I almost remembered when a loud voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Yo Tifa, give me a shot over here!" For a moment I thought I had shouted it, but I realized I didn't know the bar girl's named. Blinking slowly, I turned to see who had shouted…and nearly dropped my shot glass.

I was looking in a mirror! This guy stole my good looks! He had the same shade of blood red hair, spiked almost like mine, only his was longer and tied back in a long ponytail, and he had a pair of goggles perched on his forehead. The guy had the same bright green eyes, but his had a tinge of blue to them. Instead of my teardrop tattoos, this guy had red slashes his on his cheekbones, right underneath the goggles. He wore a white dress shirt, unbuttoned; a black dress jacket, unzipped; matching black slacks and scuffed and muddy black shoes.

As he turned to converse with a guy sitting next to him, I realized out voices were uncannily similar…we sounded exactly alike. As I watched the guy pulled out a lighter, and despite lacking a heart, something jumped into my throat. But the guy just lit a cigarette. His partner said something I couldn't here and he whipped his head around towards me. I quickly ducked down, not wanting to look like a stalker.

Instead of leaving it like a normal person, this guy grabbed his glass and moved over next to me.

"Yo." The doppelganger greeted. Again I realized how alike our voices were. "The name's Reno."

"Mine's Axel. A-X-E-L, got it memorized?" I smirked, and he returned it.

"I never realized I had a fan. Next time you try and imitate your idol, at least get it right." Reno joked.

"Imitate you? I think it's the other way around." I laughed, secretly hoping that that fact I was on my fourth shot would disguise my lame come-back.

"You're right, actually." Reno shrugged. "Not about imitating you, yo. But no one could look so alike and have the same voice on purpose. Besides, I don't think anyone want to have a bloody birds nest for a hairstyle." Reno smirked.

"Hey watch it; I might take that as a challenge." I laughed.

"Maybe it is." Reno grinned. I scooted away.

"Hey, I don't swing that way. No heart makes for limited sexual romance." I grinned, a bit nervous, but I'd never let him know that. Reno tilted his head.

"'No heart'? What'cha mean by that, yo?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

I finished my shot and pulled out some money. Putting a little extra down for the bar girl, I stood up to leave, but Reno stopped me. "Where are you going, yo? You never answered my question."

"It's not important. Look, I got somewhere to be." I mumbled, shouldering past him.

"Don't just walk away from me!" Reno cried, but I ignored him.

"Not to be rude, but looking in a mirror gets boring after a while, got it memorized." I called. Reno followed me out, leaving his bar buddy to pay the bill. "What are you, a stalker?" I grumbled to myself. I quickened my pace, trying to outdistance the guy. I swerved down an alley, almost immediately tripping over something. As I grabbed the offending object, I discovered it was a two sided mirror. There was some kind of inscription on the bottom in text I didn't understand. "Pfft, what a piece of junk." I scoffed, tossing it back on the ground, moving on. I didn't even notice my reflection never left the mirror, or the fact it shifted to the other side.

Reno headed down the alley after me, calling my name. Every time I sped up, he matched his pace. He ran right past the mirror, but not before it caught his reflection as well.

Finally I turned to confront him. "What do you WANT?" I snarled, but the Turk didn't bat an eye.

"I just came to tell you that you can't use whatever money you used back there. We use Gil. I paid your tab for you." Reno dropped my munny back into my palm.

"Oh…uh…Hearts, man, you didn't have to do that." I mumbled, then I hardened. "I can take care of myself, ok? You think I need a complete stranger watching after me?" I shoved him. "Nobodies take care of themselves." I stormed off, ignoring Reno's cries of protest.

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The mirror began to whir faintly, the two mirrors spinning and spinning, until Axel's and Reno's reflection's seemed to unite, then separate again. The text on the bottom began to glow and a low voice rasped "When two of blood will spill the brew, may the glass reflect on you."

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Please Review. Free virtual cookie to whoever guesses who Reno's drinking buddy is! It's not Rude for once. I apologize for any OOC read here, do NOT interpret as yaoi. 


	2. Out of the Frying Pan

I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy VII. Reno is the first to realize his predicament, and unfortunately, he has the worst luck in his new body.**_

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**_A Pyromaniac's Reflection_**

Blue-green eyes blinked open blearily, trying to focus on their surroundings. Someone was pounding on the door shouting "Come on, get up, ya stupid redhead!" in a voice that was unmistakably female.

"Five more minutes, I'm off-duty," mumbled the heap of bed covers.

"Suit yourself, but the Superior's going to get on you for missing another meeting." called the voice, followed by the sound of retreated footsteps.

"'Superior'? Man, Elena's really kissing Tseng's butt. Must have a hangover or something." He said sleepily, climbing out of the bed. There was another knock at the door. "I said I was coming!" the redhead growled irritably. He was answered by a young male voice.

"Axel, it's just me. Open up would ya?"

"Axel? What the hell? I'm Reno." Reno opened the door, revealing a young boy with golden blonde hair that looked like it was held up with about ten bottles of gel. He gave Reno a quizzical look with deep sapphire eyes.

"Reno? Oh, you mean the stalker guy from the bar last night. You told me about him." The boy said, shrugging.

"What, stalker? Look you don't understand squirt, I am Reno. Why the hell did you call me Axel?" he asked, staring down at the teen.

"Did you hit your head, or are you still drunk? I know you said Reno looked a lot like you but really." The boy shook his head. "I came to tell you to avoid the upper floors for a while, Xaldin's pissed." With that, the blonde took his leave. Reno stood there, confused for a moment, then he ran into the bathroom, staring at the mirror.

"Holy shit!" he cried, stumbling backwards. He…he really _was_ Axel! What had happened to him? "This is so screwed up, yo!" he cried, running a hand through his shorter, spikier locks. He paused. Normally he'd have a fit right now, but something was wrong. He felt empty, drained. Reno remembered Axel had said something about not having a heart, and he put a hand to his chest. There wasn't a heartbeat. "Holy shit!" he put a finger to his wrist, feeling for a pulse: nothing. What the hell was wrong with this Axel freak, anyway?!

"Ok, Reno, just call down, yo." Reno took a deep breath. Ok, that didn't work. "All you gotta do is get back to Midgar and find someone to fix this!" he grinned, but stopped. It was way too freaky seeing his cocky smirk on Axel's face. Axel's…

"Wait, if I'm in Axel's body then…." Reno's eyes widened. "Aw shit! That freak's running around in my body!!"

Twenty hectic minutes later…

Reno sat at the table in the castle kitchen, head in his hands. One of the others in the room, a boy who looked in his late teens with silver-blue hair hanging over his right eye spoke.

"Axel, you've been staring at your cereal bowl for fifteen minutes and its scaring the hell out of me. What's up with you?" the boy spoke in a flat monotone, devoid of any emotion. Reno started at the voice.

"My bad, yo. I was thinking." He mumbled. The boy cocked an eyebrow.

"You, thinking? There's a laugh. What's with the 'yo' at the end there?"

"I've always talked like-" Reno broke off, remembering he was Axel now. "I uh…picked it up from Reno." He shrugged, earning another raised eyebrow.

"Last night you said he was a stalker, now you're copying his speech patterns?" he rolled his eyes, turning to go. Reno heard him mutter "crazy pyro" as he left.

"Stupid Kadaj knock-off." Reno growled, standing up. He left the room, leaving his breakfast untouched. "I need a smoke, yo." He dug around for his cigarettes and groaned. Axel didn't smoke! "This is complete and utter bullshit!" Reno shouted, frightening a few Dusks nearby.

Sticking his hands in his pockets irritably, Reno went down to the main hall, where he nearly ran into a man with pink hair and blue eyes. The man spun on him.

"Watch where you're going Axel!" he growled.

"You were the one turned to other way, idiot!" Reno retorted.

The man glared at him and said with forced casualty "I'm going to the store, and Xemnas doesn't want us going out again today. Anything you need?" The answer surprised him.

"Cigarettes."

"Excuse me?"

"I said 'cigarettes'. What are you, deaf?" Reno growled. "Buy me a pack of goddamn cigarettes, ok? Any brand, I don't care." The ex-Turk spun on his heel and strode off, leaving the other very confused. He stopped Zexion as he walked by.

"Since when does Axel smoke?"

"He doesn't." came the response.

Reno was waiting when Marluxia (he had overheard the name) returned from the store. As soon as Marluxia set down the small bag, Reno dug around for the pack. He looked at the brand. "Not the best, but it'll do." He looked around for a lighter.

"Axel, you've been acting different lately." Marluxia remarked. "I mean, it's not like you to forget about your powers." Reno froze.

"Powers?" Marluxia nearly dropped the bottle he was holding. "What powers?"

"Axel, seriously, that's not funny." Marluxia grumbled. Reno shook his head.

"Seriously, what powers?" Marluxia stared at Reno.

"You…really did hit your head or something, like Roxas said." He said, trying to reason out the sudden change in the pyro's behavior. Meanwhile, Reno had found a lighter and lit the cigarette up, pocketing the device. He exhaled.

"Oh man, I needed that," he sighed blissfully. Someone walked into the room, immediately wrinkling their nose.

"Hearts, Axel, that thing stinks, and I don't have Zexion's super nose!" it was the girl.

"Larxene, Axel says he doesn't know he has powers." Marluxia said urgently, trying to ignore the stink of the cigarette. Reno opened his eyes, and all he saw were the girl's antennae. He grabbed the nearest thing-a rolling pin-and bashed he rover the head.

"Big ass bug." He cried out as Larxene grabbed him by the throat.

"Oh he's different alright. When I'm done with him, he'll be DEAD!" she snarled, opening a portal and dragging Reno off. Marluxia stomped out the cigarette he left behind, wrinkling his nose.

The poor redhead's screams of pain and torment echoed through the castle, even catching Vexen's attention for a moment.

"I hope she doesn't make a mess." The scientist muttered, returning to his notes.

Later, when he was finally freed from Larxene's grasp, Reno decided to get his body back as quickly as possible. As soon as he could feel his legs.

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I apologize for the OOC Roxas and OOC Marluxia. I like to think I did Zexion decently. Please review! Axel's coming next chapter, I promise! 


	3. A Rude Awakening

Well, here's Axel's intro chapter. Yes, his reaction is roughly the same as Reno's. I am so sorry about the title, but it was this or "Axel's Valentine", and personally I think that implies some kind of yaoi.**_

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**_A Pyromaniac's Reflection_**

"Wake up, already!" a gruff voice broke through the lovely dream world. He was being shaken awake roughly.

"I'm up, I'm up!" he growled, shoving the hand off his shoulder. He sat up, back cracking. Had he fallen asleep at his desk? That didn't happen often. The redhead flexed his fingers, knuckles cracking. He turned to see who had woke him up and came face to face with a total stranger. He was a large, dark-skinned, heavily muscled man with a total lack of hair and eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. The man wore a suit so he looked like he had just arrived from the Matrix or MIB headquarters. The redhead rubbed his head sleepily.

"I feel like I got whacked around by Saix's claymore…." He mumbled, feeling an alien pressure on his forehead. He shook it off as the dark stranger tossed papers on his desk.

"New paperwork. Tseng expects you to file it on time, this time, Reno."

"Reno? What the hell? I'm Axel." Axel blinked, looking through the paperwork. It was all addressed to Reno. The dark man quirked an eyebrow.

"Axel? How drunk are you, partner?" he asked.

"Drunk? Partner? Look there's some mistake here, I'm not Reno. I'm Axel, got it memorized?" Axel tapped his forehead for emphasis. The dark stranger rolled his eyes. Axel looked at his hands. Where were his gloves? Hell, where was his Organization cloak? "'Scuse me on sec." he grinned nervously, racing to the nearest restroom. He stared at the mirror.

"Oh. Hell. No." he said, examining his reflection. What had happened to his hair, his tattoos? It looked like someone had tried to slash out his eyes or something! Axel rubbed his temples. "Ok, now I just gotta make contact with the Organization and get the hell out of here!" he sighed. "But how do I contact them?" He held out one hand to summon a portal. Nothing. "Shit." This time he tried to summon his chakrams. No dice. "Fire!" Not even a flicker. "Shit shit shit!" Axel snarled, pounding his fist against the wall.

"I'm stuck in this bastard's body while he…" Axel swore loudly. "That idiot's going to ruin my reputation!" Dejected, Axel walked back to Reno's desk and sat down. He looked suddenly.

"Say uh…partner…" the dark-skinned man looked up. "I wouldn't happen to be able to take the day off today, could I?" this earned him a raised eyebrow.

"Tseng'll get pissed at you, but I suppose you could." Axel sighed with relief.

"Great, I need it." He stood up, walking past his 'partner's' desk. He spotted a nametag out of the corner of his eye.

"Going outside to have a smoke?" Rude asked. Axel wrinkled his nose.

"I don't touch those things." He walked out, leaving a very confused Rude.

As soon as Axel was outside the building, he banged his fist against the wall. "I can't believe I'm IN this mess!" he snarled. "It's that stupid knockoff's fault, I know it!" he trailed off into furious silence…until he heard something. It was so soft that no one else would hear it, but Axel's ears, unaccustomed to the sound, perked. _Ba-thump, ba-thump_. It was so close; it seemed to be coming from within him. "No way…" he murmured. He put a hand to his chest, where it was met with warm skin and a slight rhythmic thumping. Axel's blue-green eyes widened then he broke out in a grin.

"I have a heart now!" he shouted in triumph. "I actually have a heart!" he laughed, almost giddy with happiness, no longer a memory of feeling, but honest to god happiness. "On second thought, this body switch might not be so bad…This calls for a celebration drink!" he headed off to the nearest bar, which coincidentally was the same one he and Reno had met in.

Axel, realizing this, stopped. "The hell with it, what are the chances of meeting another redhead?" He laughed, heading inside. Heads turned to see who had entered and a few called out greetings. Axel waved and sat down at the end of the bar, ordering a beer. This earned him a raised eyebrow from the bar girl (Tifa, wasn't it?), and she asked why he was drinking something so weak.

"Just not in the mood for a strong drink." Axel shrugged, hoping he wasn't sweating too much. Tifa shrugged, getting the drink. The door opened again, and the bar went quiet very suddenly. It was a young man with blonde hair in wild spikes ('not as wild as Roxas's', Axel thought) and piercing blue eyes. The man was dressed all in black, wearing a jacket with only one sleeve and a pendant that looked like a wolf's head door knocker. In his ears were a pair of wolf's head earrings, and a huge sword was strapped to his back.

"Hey there, Cloud." Tifa greeted. Cloud only grunted, taking a seat next to Axel. Axel glanced at him then returned to his beer. After what seemed like ages, Cloud spoke in a low voice.

"It's not like you to be quiet in a bar, Reno."

"Call it a change of heart." Axel smirked. Cloud said nothing. When Axel finished his beer he fished around for his wallet, er…Reno's wallet. He pulled it out and opened it. There was only fifty gil. Still, it was enough to pay for the beer, so he set it down and walked off, hands in his pockets.

Axel stumbled across a rundown playground, indicating he had entered the slums. Axel had preferred the slums to the big city, but he couldn't really say why. Axel sat down on a rusty swing, staring up at the cloudy, smoggy sky. He smiled. Hey, any sky was better than the eternally dark, rainy sky of the Dark City. A deep voice interrupted Axel's musings.

"Cloud said you were acting suspicious. You're not really Reno, are you?" Axel spun around to see a man with jet black hair and blood red eyes. The majority of his face was hidden by the collar of a long, tattered red cloak. Underneath the man wore all black, except for his boots which had a gold shine and his left arm, which looked like a golden claw. Axel wrenched his eyes back to the strangers face.

"What would give you that idea?" he asked.

"I'm not your average human, and apparently, neither are you," was the response. Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, you caught me. My name's Axel and last night I had a run-in with Reno. This morning I wake up in this freak's body. No one believes me when I say I'm not Reno." He explained. The stranger just listened. "I think I know who can help. Follow me." The man turned on his heel, cloak spinning out behind him.

"Hey, I don't even know your name!" Axel said, following. The answer was brief.

"Vincent Valentine."

"Nice name." Axel smirked, Vincent turned to glare at him.

"I won't hesitate to shoot you." Axel fell silent.

The two entered what appeared to be an plane hangar, filled with very sophisticated vehicles. Among them was a tall man, blonde, unshaven, with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He turned to see his visitors.

"The hell do you want?" he asked in his typical polite manner.

"Cid, we need a ride."

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You're going to see a bit of Vincent for a while, yupyup. But where is he taking Axel? Will Reno ever recover enough to confront them? What's Tseng gonna say when 'Reno' doesn't do his paperwork...again? All will be revealed in the next two chapters of A Pyromaniac's Reflection! PS: Neither Vincent nor Zexion is emo. PPS: If you have any way I can improve Vincent's personality from the way I've portrayed it, please let me know. PPPS: Review please! 


	4. Interroagation

Yep, new Axel chapter. Yay. I'm updating quickly, a great acomplishment for me. Yep, I seem to enjoy the almost-emo/redhead team-up. Heh.**_

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**_A Pyromaniac's Reflection_**

"I hate here, I hate her, I hate her…" Reno grumbled over and over, trying to work some feeling back into his (amazingly unbroken) limbs. He rolled his wrists a few times, and then lit a cigarette. There was a knock at the door.

"Axel, it's Zexion, let me in."

"Can't move my legs right now. Door's open." Reno called, letting the smoke curl from his mouth. The door opened, revealing Zexion wearing a face mask.

"Nice." Reno laughed.

"Axel, my nose is very sensitive. If it stinks to the others, for me it practically falls under the category of 'deadly'." Zexion reminded, standing at the door, trying to stay as far from the cigarette as possible.

"Now that that's out of the way, why'd you come here, other than to tell me my cigs are bad?" Reno grinned, blowing a smoke ring in the Schemer's direction. Zexion's visible eye twitched slightly.

"Your new behavior is disturbing everyone. Vexen apparently thinks you've been brainwashed and wants to do some testing."

"And he wants me now?" Reno asked, taking a long pull from the cigarette.

"Very soon. He also requests you don't light one of those in his lab…lots of flammable things and whatnot." Zexion smirked under the mask. "Oh yeah, and congrats on getting enough courage to smack Larxene like that. That takes real guts." Zexion turned and left before he got an answer.

Reno snubbed his cigarette in his newly acquired ashtray and stood up. He winced as his legs screamed in protests, but he stayed upright. Stumbling outside his room, Reno realized he had no clue where Vexen's lab was. Reasoning there was no smell of chemicals, Reno decided to go down until he recognized an area that could be a lab.

He had gone down roughly nine floors when he detected a familiar scent: chemical fumes. Sadly, Reno was all too familiar with a mad scientist's lab, working in the same building as Hojo. Shrugging off the more painful memories, Reno stopped at a door that read "Experimentation in progress, do not disturb." Ignoring the sign, as usual, Reno knocked on the door. There was a small explosion and loud curse from within. The door hissed open, revealing a disheveled blonde man with an annoyed look on his face. It evaporated at soon as he saw Axel.

"Oh, Axel." Vexen waved him in, shutting the door quickly. The Academic led Reno to a small room that reminded the redhead suspiciously of a psychiatrist's office, but without the bed. Instead there were two chairs and walls lined with shelves upon shelves of books. "Sit." Vexen commanded, and Reno reclined in a chair.

"So what's all this about 'brain-washing'?" Reno smirked. Vexen pulled out a clipboard and began to ask questions.

"What number are you in the Organization?" he asked.

"You guys have numbers, yo?" Reno tilted his head slightly. Vexen wrote something down.

"What element do you control?" This question also confused Reno.

"I control…an element? Without materia?" Vexen looked up, a bit thrown off.

"What's materia?" Vexen asked.

"You mean you don't know? They're little bits of mako energy that give the user a different power when activated. Like if you used a mastered fire materia, you'd cast Firaga." Vexen began scribbling furiously.

"I see….and who is your best friend?" Reno didn't even need to consider this question.

"Rude, duh. We've been partners for years, yo." He grinned.

"Mm-hmm. Who is your boss?"

"President Shinra." Vexen stopped writing, looking at Reno.

"That will be all for now. Wait here." Vexen summoned a portal, startling Reno, and left.

Reno sat there for what felt like ages. Out of sheer boredom, he lit a cigarette. Eventually a portal opened, and Vexen stepped out. "Axel, follow me." Reno shrugged and stood up, following the older member through the portal. They emerged in a room that was completely white, blinding Reno for a moment. Blinking away spots, he saw they were not alone. Along with Vexen and Zexion, a man with silver hair and dark orange eyes was watching Reno with an unblinking stare, hands behind his back. Before Reno could ask the man what he was staring at, he found himself with a giant, black, key-like sword with a violet jewel set in the handle at his throat.

"What have you done with Axel?" Roxas hissed, eyes flashing dangerously. Reno swallowed.

"Roxas, don't threaten him, or he'll never talk." The stranger spoke in a deep voice. He spoke slowly, as if he were carefully considering each word. Roxas lowered Oblivion grudgingly.

"Thank you." Reno managed to gasp, rubbing his throat.

"So, whoever you are, what have you done to Axel?" Zexion asked.

"My name's Reno, yo." he grumbled. "I'm sure Axel's fine. As long as he doesn't done anything stupid, that is. If he ruins my body he is in deep shit."

"Your body?" Vexen looked at him.

"Yeah, my body. See, last night, me and Axel met. He started yelling about how Nobodies take care of themselves and he stormed off. And this morning, I wake up in the freak's body! And I told him I wasn't Axel, but he didn't listen." Reno pointed at Roxas.

"Told you he hit his head." Roxas said.

"I don't think so, Roxas. His scent, its almost identical to Axel's but not quite. This man is not Axel." Zexion said.

"THANK you!" Reno cried. "Now can someone here change us back?" Vexen and Zexion glanced at each other.

"I suppose if we took him to Hollow Bastion, we could convince Merlin…" Vexen remarked thoughtfully.

"The only problem is convincing Merlin without Leon or Cloud beating us to a bloody pulp." Zexion said. The Schemer looked around to find all eyes on him. "Damn it."

"And you're completely sure this will work?"

"For the fifteenth time, YES. Now how long is your ponytail again?" Reno rolled his eyes. The others had decided Zexion would use his powers to disguise him, Reno deciding he wanted to look like his old self. Much to his chagrin, Zexion needed exact details to get the illusion right, and was correctly guessing when Reno was exaggerating.

Finally, both of them were satisfied with the disguise, but Zexion had decided to go as he was, reasoning if things got bad he would open a portal and bail them out.

"Now do it like I showed you." Zexion instructed. Reno closed his eyes, holding out a hand. "Concentrate on where you want to go." An inky black portal opened up in front of them.

"Awesome!" Reno cried in triumph. He walked through the portal, followed closely by Zexion. Where they emerged was definitely not Hollow Bastion. Reno looked over the edge of the cobblestone ledge, down at the ocean lapping against the rocks far below.

"If you weren't in Axel's body, I'd kill you." Zexion hissed.

"You two, halt!" The two spun around to see a crowd of men in red uniforms, all aiming guns at them. "The two of you are under the accusation of being pirates!"

"Pirates?" Reno cocked his head.

"I've always hated this world…" Zexion grumbled, watching as the uniformed men put a struggling Reno in handcuffs.

"Come on you, you're headin' to the gallows." Zexion and Reno were pushed and shoved in front of the troop at gunpoint. Reno only spoke one word.

"Shit."

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Zexion shouldn'tve trusted Reno to open the portal. Lesson learned, life moves on...we hope. 


	5. Deal or No Deal?

I can explain! D: My computer fell off the bed, breaking the cable. Not knowing what a fragment of the cable was, I stuck it in the cable plug, where it decided "I ain't comin' out!" We had to send it to a computer doctor, and I was stuck on the old computer. Now I have my files again and I'm already working on chapter six! Enjoy the new chapter everybody!**_

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**_A Pyromaniac's Reflection_**

**Chapter 5: Deal or No Deal?**

"Why the hell do you need my ships? This idiot's a Turk, use one of those copters." Cid sad irritably.

"Where we're going can't be reached by helicopter." Vincent said.

"And where is this place?" Cid raised an eyebrow. Vincent turned to Axel.

"A world called Hollow Bastion, far, far away from here." Axel was smirking, awaiting the man's reaction.

"Another world? You mean like another planet floatin' around in space?"

"Yup." Axel nodded. He knew they had him; Vincent had told Axel it was Cid's dream to go out in space.

"Fine then, I'll take you." Cid agreed grudgingly. He led them over to a new model, one unlike his others. It was small and blocky, looking like it had been made from candy. Vincent raised his eyebrow. "Look, I didn't make the damn thing. It was sent to me by some guy named King Mickey." Cid grumbled. "He says it can travel between worlds."

"Did he mention the name?" Axel asked.

"Yeah. I think the letter called it a…Gummi Ship." Axel smirked.

"Then we're taking it." He clambered inside and moved to the cockpit, but Cid pushed him aside.

"Oh no, I'm driving." Axel sat in a seat and sulked.

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"Reno, get over here." Axel looked up. He stood up, walking over to where Cid sat.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Which one of these is Hollow Bastion?" Cid said, looking at all the worlds. Axel pointed.

"That one there, with the castle." Cid turned the wheel, changing their course. Suddenly, the ship shook violently, and Axel fell over. "What the hell?" he demanded.

"Enemy ships sighted." The computer reported.

"Well that's helpful." Axel growled, getting to his feet. "Cid, damage report."

"Don't order me around, dammit." Cid growled. "They took out the navigating system, we're off course." Axel ran to the nearest window.

"Ah hell."

"What?" Vincent asked.

"There." Axel growled.

"Now entering world Olympus Coliseum." The computer announced.

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Axel groaned, blinking. He way lying on a cold stone floor, half immersed in a green puddle. "Ergh!" he recoiled from the puddle, wringing the jacket out. He looked around. "Vincent? Cid?" he called. He stood up, looking around. He spotted a heavy door with blue engravings on it, slightly open. "Just leave me here, will they?" Axel growled, pushing the doors wider-not an easy task: they were heavy. He looked around, and began walking forward.

"Hey." Axel spun around to find him face to face with a black hair man in a red cloak. One eye was scarred shut, while the other glared suspiciously at Axel. One arm was inside his cloak like a sling, while the other held a large sword. "What are you doing here?" Axel took a step back.

"I lost some friends of mine in the crash, and came looking for them." He explained.

"You expect to get them back here? You're in the Underworld now, and no mortal soul has escaped the Underworld." Axel chuckled.

"You don't understand. They're alive. We're not from here." Axel said, grinning. "Besides, if Demyx can get out, so can I."

The man frowned. "Cerberus would have gotten them by now." He remarked. Axel frowned.

"Cerberus?" The sound of gunshots made him turn. "Vincent!" Vincent was running backwards, shooting at something. Axel saw the "something" almost immediately. It was a huge, vicious black dog with sharp claws and slathering jaws. Three sets of slathering jaws. The thing had three heads.

"That would be Cerberus." The man said flatly. Axel drew Reno's electro-mag rod and growled. He charged forward, whacking away at Cerberus's leg. Cerberus growled, turning to face Axel.

"Shit." Axel fled. Cerberus snarled and ran after him. Vincent stood next to the man. They looked like a set of twins, matching facial expressions and all.

"I'm Vincent Valentine. I saw you when the dog carried us in."

"Auron." Auron watched Axel running around in circles with Cerberus in hot pursuit.

"Good doggy, nice doggy! Down! Sit! Stay!" Axel cried as Cerberus's heads snapped at his heels.

"Is he always like this?" Auron asked coolly.

"I wouldn't know, I haven't known him that long." Vincent replied, crossing his arms.

"Vincent! A little help, please!" Axel called, still avoiding Cerberus's snapping jaws.

"My bullets don't affect him." Vincent said. He looked at Auron's sword.

"Fine, I'll help." Auron hefted his sword over his shoulders, charging at Cerberus. "Know your place." He lowered the sword and held it in front of him, edge facing outward. Axel closed his eyes. There was the sword of metal meeting flesh, a howl, and silence. He opened his eyes. Cerberus was gone.

"Whoa…what the hell are you?"

"I'm just a fighter." Auron said simply.

"We could seriously use your help." Axel said.

Auron shook his head. "No. This is my story."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Axel, come on. We've got to find Cid." Vincent called. Axel nodded.

"Be on your guard. I'm sure Hades already knows you're here." Auron said. Axel turned to retort, but he was gone.

"Geez, he's freaky."

"Axel, come on!" Vincent called from the tunnel.

"I'm coming!" Axel called, running after Vincent.

A small wisp of…something settled on Axel's shoulder. Axel grimaced and brushed it off. "I feel really drained all of a sudden."

"I know. I'm not really human, so the drain doesn't really affect me, but I feel something tugging at my strength." Vincent said. Axel looked up.

"What's that?" Axel asked, looking at the heavy set of doors in front of them.

"Possibly where Cid's being held." Vincent pushed the doors open effortlessly.

---

"For the record, I blame you." Axel said. He grunted, trying to reposition his arms. The shackles held them firmly above his head. Vincent glared at him from the heavily reinforced cage he sat in.

"I think it's both of your damn faults." Cid said his shackles clanking.

"Quiet, someone's coming." Vincent said. Cid and Axel fell silent. The doors creaked open.

"So these are my party crashers? And here I was expecting the Keyblade brat and his friends." Hades smirked. He strode past Vincent and Cid to stop at Axel. "Now you…you seem interesting."

"Let us go you flame haired freak of nature." Axel snapped. Hades chuckled.

"I like your spunk. Tell you what. I'll make you a deal. I'll let you go…on one condition."

"Name it." Axel said.

"I get to set you right." Axel blinked. He grinned.

"Sure thing."

Hades snapped his fingers. The shackles and the cage vanished, along with Hades himself, in a flash of blue flame. Cid massaged his wrists.

"Great, let's get the hell out of here." He turned. "Reno. Get your ass in gear."

Axel winced. Random images flashed in front of his eyes, like a film with the scenes out of order. "Sorry. I'm fine. Let's get out of here, yo." He blinked, confused. 'Yo'? Axel gave a mental shrug. It wasn't so bad, was it? He followed Cid and Vincent. "Think we can fix the Gummi Ship?" he asked.

"Yeah, no problem." Cid assured.

"Can I fly it this time?" Axel asked. Cid glared at him.

"…Fine…whatever." Axel grinned happily.

"Sweet!"


	6. B33R!

Hey guys! Miss me? Yeah, suffering serious writer's block. Sorry the chapter's shorter than normal, but here!**_

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_**

**_A Pyromaniac's Reflection_**

**Chap****ter 6: B33R!**

"I'm not a pirate, damn it!" Reno growled. "I'm a Turk!" The soldier glared at him, slipping the noose over his neck and securing it.

"This won't hold us." Zexion said in a bored tone as a second soldier slipped the noose over his head.

"Can you get us out of this?" Reno hissed.

"Of course. Don't do anything. I've got it covered." Zexion said. "Take a lesson from me."

Reno narrowed his eyes but fell silent. 'Just hurry it up.' He thought to himself. There was a loud clanking and the floor beneath them opened. Reno fell through. The noose tightened, constricting his breathing. 'Come on, Emo Boy, hurry it up!' he thought desperately. Suddenly the weight vanished, and he was falling. For a second, it was dark, and then he hit the ground, hard. "Oof!"

"Told you I had it covered." Zexion said. Reno looked up to see the swirling black thorns of a portal. Zexion had sent him through a portal. "Now get up. We need to find where we are. I only had enough energy to get us somewhere in Port Royal." Reno got to his hands and knees. He winced. Strange images flashes across his eyes. _"I get to set you right."_ A voice echoed in his mind.

"Reno!" A boot to his side sent him back to the ground.

"Ow!" he stumbled to his feet and glared at Zexion.

"What was that about?" Zexion asked.

"Must've hit my head when I fell." Reno shrugged. "Listen, I'll burn you if you ever kick me like that again, got it memorized?" he tapped his forehead for emphasis. Zexion gave him a weird look.

'His smell…it's changing…' Zexion frowned.

"What's with the face?" Reno asked. "You're such an emo boy, yo." He laughed. Zexion raised an eyebrow.

'He doesn't suspect anything.' Zexion turned around.

"Hey look, a bar!" Reno laughed. A sign hanging not too far away read 'The Red Raven: Best Bar in Port Royal!' "I need a drink after that!"

He pushed his way into the bar. A young woman with brown hair and blue eyes behind glasses with no hooks stood behind the bar, polishing a glass. She looked up and smiled. "Axel, Zexion! Long time no see." She said. Zexion shook his head and sat down. Reno sat next to him. "How's Quill?" the woman asked Zexion.

"She's fine." Zexion shrugged. "Say Xannka, have you heard anything about…" he lowered his voice so Reno had trouble hearing. The names "Rosalie" and "Xonah" came up frequently. Once he heard the name "Maxina", which for some unexplainable reason made his heart jump.

"Hey Axel." Reno blinked, looking around. "Oh damn being short." There was a scraping sound (most likely a footstool) and a young man with silver hair and ruby red eyes poked his head over the bar. Reno blinked, tilting his head slightly. "Axel…it's me. It's me. It's Seprox. Don't you recognize me?" Reno opened his mouth to reply, when Zexion suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Follow me, don't say a word!" he hissed, yanking Reno behind him with surprising strength, shoving him into a closet and shutting the door. Just as soon as the door shut, Reno heard the bar door open. Reno closed his eyes.

There was the sound of boots thumping on the ground. "Sorry to bother you ma'am, but we're looking for some pirates. They escaped the noose." Said a voice.

"Well, can't say I've seen anyone who fits that description." Xannka said.

"Then you won't mind up taking a look around." Said a second soldier. Reno held his breath. The sound of footsteps came closer to the closet and stopped.

"So what's in the closet?" asked the first soldier.

"I wouldn't open that." Xannka warned.

"And why not?" the doorknob twisted slightly.

"There are some very dangerous chemicals in there. They have a tendency to burst into flames if exposed to light." She seemed to street the word 'flames'. Reno took a breath and readied himself.

"Yeah right." The soldier snorted, and opened the door…

Which immediately caught flame. The soldier cried out and stumbled backwards. The flames vanished as the door became coated in ice.

"What did I tell you?" Xannka said. "I'm sorry officers, but you are disturbing my patrons, and I must ask you to leave."

"But-" the soldier protested.

"Forget it." The second said. "They're not here anyway." The sound of retreating footsteps.

"You know," remarked the first soldier, "I could swear, in the flames, I could see that one's bright red hair."

"And I think you got rocks in your head." The second snorted. The door shut.

"It's safe to come out now." Xannka said. Zexion opened the door.

"Thanks a lot, Xannka." He said. "That was quick thinking." Xannka smiled.

"No problem." She said, shrugging. Reno grinned.

"Well, thanks for everything, and we gotta get going. Right Zex?"

"Wait just a minute there!" Xannka grabbed him by the hood. "What's the matter with you, Axel? I want to know what's going on." Reno chuckled nervously.

"Nothing gets by you, Xannka. It's a long story." Zexion said.

"I've got nothing but time."

With a sigh, Zexion and Reno sat at the bar and explained everything.

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The cameos...THEY BURN! Ok, not really. This chapter is dedicated to my closest friends Kanna and Maxina! Even the title of the chapter is an inside joke between me and Kanna. Sorry guys, the had me at gunpoint! (Well...not really...but yeah. XD)

Xannka and Seprox (c) Kanna

Oh yeah, before I forget! My idea pool is DEAD. You hear me? DEAD!! Please, I'm begging you, send me your ideas for the next few chapters! If not this story will never be updated! I'm counting on you!


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